Succession Planning

Succession planning is a process for identifying and developing people within the organisation with the potential to fill key leadership positions in the company. It increases the availability of experienced and capable employees that are prepared to assume these roles as they become available. Senior leaders need to be aware of the fact that the continued success of their organisation depends on having the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

The basic tenets forming the foundation of the succession planning process should ideally include the following:

• Communicating with each individual about their career paths

• Establishing career paths and individual job moves

• Establishing development and training programmes

The use of psychometrics is a valuable tool in identifying ‘potential’ within the organisation. The assessment of individuals can occur at a number of phases within the employee’s lifespan with the company. These can include:

• Recruitment
  
  
• At the initial phase of hiring in order to determine their level of capability for fulfilling the demands of the current position as well as adding further value to more senior roles in the future.
  
  
• Performance appraisal
  
  
• Utilising performance appraisals for identifying candidates who have the potential to move up in the organization. Coupled with this is the invaluable information that can be gleaned from psychometric assessments in order to consolidate the results of the performance appraisal.

Psychometrics can provide the foundation from which organisations base their succession planning strategy.